Process of manufacturing barrels.



o. Samir-BERT. PROCESS 0F MANUFACTURING BARRELS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12,1908.

Patented Ag. a, 1909. j@ .2

FIJ

ANDREW la4 (mmm co.. mvo-UTHDORAPHERB. wAswNmon. D. f:A

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'OSCAR SCHUBERT, OF CI-IICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO J. I-I.WINTERBOTI-IAM d; SONS, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING BARRELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 3, 1909.

Application l'ed June 12, 1908. Serial No. 438,045.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR SCHUBERT, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicago, in the county oi' Coeli and State oi' Illinois,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Processes of ManufacturingBarrels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the manufacture of barrels.

In the method or process heretofore coinmonly employed for manufacturingbarrels, the wood staves are iii-st snugly set up in a frustum shape ina suitable form within temporary metal truss or assembling hoops whichencircle the frustum at its smaller or lower end, one at the eXtreme endand the other about midway between such extreme end and the middle orbilge of the barrel; then the frustum is turned end for end and thetemporary assembling or truss hoops slightly tightened and the stavesarighted;

then the barrel frustums are moistcned,

steamed or fried to seiten the wood ci' the staves, ordinarily bypassing them through a steam chamber; and then. the larger or unhoopedend of the frustum is ropcd and said end thus drawn in sufficiently toreceive the temporary metal truss hoop. In this method or process, greatloss and difliculty is experienced. in practical operation from more orless of the staves breaking or cracking during the roping or drawing inoperation, owing to the severe bending strain to which the staves aresubjected, the loss from this source becoming greater year by year asthe quality ol the eah or other wood available for barrel use grows moreand more inferior.

The object ci' my invention is to provide a method or process by whichthe diIiculties heretofore experienced may be practically overcome andthe loss from breaking staves during the roping operation practicallyeliminated. I have discovered and demonstrated by experiment, and alsoby practical use, that this object or result may be accomplished. bydriving or forcing a temporary metal driving hoop to, and preferablypast, the center or bilge of the barrel prior to the roping or drawingin operation, so that this temporary driving hoop, thus driven to orpast the bilge, will serve to materially contract the larger end ci' thebarrel frustum, and thus materially diminish the bending of the stavessubsequently necessary under the roping or drawing in operation; theforcing of the temporary driving hoop to or past the bilge also servingto give the staves a temporary reverse or outward bend at their freeends, which serves to open the pores and cause the moisture of thesteaming operation to more eflectually penetrate the interior portionsof the staves. The forcing of the temporary driving hoop to or past thebilge also i'urtherperves to materially diminish the breakage of thestaves during the roping operation by reason of the fact that it gives agreater space or stave length between such temporary driving hoop andthe temporary or assembling hoop at the hooped end of the barrelfrustum, and thus gives greater ilexibility to this portion of thestaves between said hoops, and thereby also tends to diminish theliability of breakage during the roping operation. The temporary drivinghoop being driven te or past the bilge also tends to prevent breakage`at or above the bilge by reason of the reinforcing or binding actionupon the staves at this bilge portion where the breakage is most likelyto occur during the roping operation. It is in this discovery and themethod or process employed for practically carrying it out that myinvention consists.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, toenable my invention to be more clearly understood by those skilled inthe art, I have represented a barrel in successive steps of manufactureby my process.

In said drawing, Figure 1 shows the staves set up in barrel frustumshape within the assembling hoops; Fig. 2 the barrel frustum reversedand the temporary metal driving hoop applied and ready' to be driven.Fig. 3 shows the temporary metal driving hoop partially driven to placeand the staves outwardly curved or bent at their lower ends by thepressure on the temporary driving hoop. Fig. 4 is a similar view showingthe driving' hoop driven past the bilge and the pressure of the driverson such hoop released so that the lower ends of the staves are free tospring inward. Fig. 5 illustrates the next or steaming step to which thebarrel frustums are subjected after the driving hoop is driven past thebilge as shown in Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 represents the roping or drawing instep so as to receive the second temporary metal hoop at 1 the roped endof the barrel. y

Y hoops B B1, as shown in Fig. 1.

In the drawing, A represents a barrel frustum composed of wood stavesct.

B is'the lower assembling hoop at the eX-` treme lower end of the barrelfrustum and B1 the upper assembling hoop;

C is the temporary metal driving hoop, D the hoop drivers of anysuitable hoop driving machine or press, E E1 the steaming appara tus'bywhich the steaming step or operation is performed, the same preferablyconsisting of a steam chamber into which exhaust steam is admitted andthrough which the barrel fru'stums, as shown in Fig. l, areslow'lyconveyed by an endless chain or other con veyer Ei. 4

F Fris the roping mechanism or apparatus', the saine preferablyconsisting' of a wire rop? F and a power driven winding drurn F1. hewood staves a are first setup into barrel or frustum shape within the"assembling The barrel frustum thus formed is then inverted and the metaldriving hoop C aplied.v The temporary driving hoop `C is then by thehoop drivers D forced past they bilge or middle A1 of thebarrelfrust'um, as sl'iown in Figs. 3 and 4. This is preferably done in twosuccessive aplications of pressure on the drivers D, so t 'at the lowerends al of the staves@ which remain stationary and cannot slip inward onthe floor orrs'upport G while the driving pressure remains with fulllforce on the barrel frustum A may nevertheless partially draw inward atthe slight interval or release or re- Y'the' hoop 4drivers lieving ofdownward pressure upon theV barrel between the two successiveapplications of driving pressure of the hoop drivers D. This avoids orprevents too sharp or severe an outward bending or curving of the stavesa near their lower ends'punder the pressure of D. By. forcing the tempoerarydriving hoop C past the bilge Al at two successive applications ofpressure or with a slight release or relievingN of pressure between theoutward curvature a2 of the staves near their'lower ends under thedriving pressure, is not sharp or acute enough to endanger 'or injurethe staves, and is at the saine time suiiicient to open the pores ofthewood on the inner side and thus enable the steam and moisture to morefully penetrate the interior portions of the staves during thesubsequent steaming step.

he temporary driving hoop C is preferably forced about two inches pastthe `middle or bilge line A1 of the barrel, as illustrated in Fig. 4,although the extent to which it is driven past the bilg'e maybe variedwithout departing from rnyinvention, and indeed, l that fairlygoodresults may be accomplished by simply forcing the tentoo-Y rarydriving' hoop Cto the bil'ge, although l. prefer that it should beforced somewhat past the bilge or middle line of the barrel. Thedownward pressure of the drivers D on of the staves is furtherfacilitated by the temporary driving hoop C while the free ends of thestaves rest upon the flat support G has and can have little tendency toldraw the free end of the staves inward until said temporary driving hoopC approaches somewhat near to the middle or bilge line of the .barrelfrustum, while such downward pressure at this time tends to give areverse bend to the lower rhalf of the staves, as shown in Fig. 3. Asthe further downward pressure of the drivers D on the hoop C forces saidhoop near to and past the bilge` line, the inward drawing orcontractingy action of said hoop'C on the staves tends to cause the freeends of the staves to contract or be drawn inward toward each other. Andthis contracting or drawing toward each other of the free ends cessiveVapplication of downward pressure of the drivers D on the temporarydriving hoop C or the slight interval of release or relieving ofdownward pressure between suchsuccessive applications of pressure. pAfter the bars rel frustums are thus partially drawn in at the lower orfree end of the staves by forcing the temporary metal driving hoop C toor past the bilge, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the barrel fiustums areneXt steamed, this being preferably done by passing them through a steamchamber E' on a suitable conveyor E. The barrel frustums thus steamedarethen each passed neXt to the roping'apparatus F FH, and the freeVends of the staves encir-4 cled by the rope F and drawn in or con-ntracted sufficiently by operation of the windlass F1 to enable thelother temporary metal hoop B2 to be applied at the roped end ofthebarrel. As the free ends of the staves are already partially contractedor drawn in by the temporary driving hoop C, forced to or past the`bilge', the roping operation will not in practice break, crack or injurethe staves.

ln practicing my invention, ordinarily also level the staves in thebarrel frustum by a leveling plate or ringV G1 carried by the cross headofthe drivers D, anduwhich, by enL gagement with the upper ends of thestavesV levels the frustum or the staves thereof after 'the temporaryLdriving hoop C is forced home or to the position shown in Fig. et, orsimule taneously with the forcing of said hoo to such position. As thestaves are held tiglitly under tension bythe temporary driving hoop C assoon as it is forced to position, the levelL ing operation can besuccessfully performed at this time. VThis pense of subsequentlyleveling the barrel.

lclaini p l. The' method or process of manufactureV ing barrels,consisting in iirst assembling the staves into a barrel frustum withinassembling hoops, then applying a temporary Vdriving hoop andl forcingit past the bilge by successive applications of pressure thereon, andthereby subjecting the free ends of the saves the labor and exe` thesuc-V lio staves to a reverse bend to open the pores, and thereby alsopartially drawing in or con tracting;` the barrel frusturn at the freeend thereof, then steaming the barrel frustuin and then roping orcontracting` the unhooped end thereof and applying a hoop thereto,substantially as specified.

2. The rnethod or process of manufacturing barrels, consisting in firstassembling the staves into a barrel frusturn within assein bling hoops,then applying1 a temporary driv ine; hoop and forcing it to the bilg'eand. thereby subjecting' the free lower end portions of the staves to areverse bend to open the pores and also partially drawing in andcontracting the barrel frustum at the free end thereof, then steaming`the barrel frustuin and then roping and contracting` the unhooped endthereof and applying a hoop thereto, substantially as specified.

3. rlhe method or process of niamifacturing` barrels, consisting;l infirst assembling the staves into a barrel frustuin Withinesseinblinghoops, then applying a temporary driving hoop and forcing itby suecessive applications of pressure to the bilge, and therebysubjecting1 the free lower end portions of the staves to a reverse bendto open the pores, and also partially drawing in and contracting;r thebarrel frustuln at the free end thereof, then steaming the barrelfrustuni and then roping and contracting' the unhooped end thereof andapplying' a hoop thereto, substantially as specified.

4. The method or process of manufacturingP barrels, consisting in rstassembling the staves into a barrel frusturn within assembling; hoops,then applying` a temporary drivingn hoop and forcing it beyond the bilgeby successive applications of pressure thereon and thereby subjectingthe free ends of the staves to a reverse bend to open the pores andthereby also partially drawing in or contracting1 the barrel frustuin atthe free end thereof, then steaming' the barrel frusturn end thenroping,` or contracting the unhocped end thereof and applying,l a hoopthereto, substantially as specified.

OSCAR SCIIUBERT.

Vvlitnesses WILLIAM A. GEIGER, PEARL ABRAMs.

